James Colburn is targeting the 2013 Renault Clio Cup UK title as he returns to the series as part of an expanded four-car assault from Westbourne Motorsport.
2012 wasn’t ideal for former race-winner Colburn, with a frustrating lack of pace during the majority of the season being traced back to the after-effects of a hefty accident during the fourth weekend of the season at Oulton Park.
“Last year didn’t go to plan,” said Colburn. “It was all going well until Oulton Park when we had the big shunt there. It ruined the weekend, and went on to ruin the whole championship, as since then we’ve found the car had been bent out of shape by quite a significant margin, hence why we were off the pace the rest of the season.”
Colburn is looking to bounce back in the new campaign and replicate his performances from 2011, when the Worthing-based racer was in the thick of the championship battle, taking a maiden series win on the final weekend to take the title battle to the final race, eventually finishing third, just eight points adrift.
With a completely new car underneath him for the new campaign, Colburn is looking to add to his win tally from the off and challenge for the title once again.
“This year, we’ve got a new car and we’re looking strong, we’ve been really quick in testing and that means we’re really confident that we’ll be up the front,” he added.
Colburn will be leading an expanded four-car outfit, with Mike Bushell joining the team full-time for his second season in the series. Bushell ran his own car for the majority of last season, running as a regular top ten finisher, before collecting a maiden podium on the final weekend with Westbourne.
Malta-born Jacques Mizzi has signed as the team’s third driver, the karting graduate preparing for his first season competing in the UK, while fellow series rookie 18 year old Jordan Stilp joins the team as the 2012 Ma5da MX5 Cup vice-champion.
“This is a really exciting year for the team,” commented team boss Richard Colburn. “We have a great blend of proven podium finishers, with James and Mike together, and two talented newcomers to the series in Jordan and Jacques – both have really impressed me in pre-season testing. I feel we really have a chance to challenge for both the driver and team titles in 2013, everybody at Westbourne has worked really hard throughout the winter.”
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James Colburn was speaking to Kingsley Newman (KAN Photography)
